Legion World Forums LEGION CLUBHOUSE The Legion of Super-Heroes Long Live the Legion! Your First Time

When was the first time you laid eyes on what was to later become your favourite legionnaire?

For me, I borrowed my older brother's Adventure Comic with the cover story, "Civil War of the Legion". This was the first Legion story I ever read. Triplicate Girl was only in a couple of panels. She basically explains to Superboy that most of the Legionnaires are on a distant space mission with Mon-el and then she brings him to the archeolgical dig where the remaining Legionnaires are. She volunteers to stay behind when the rest of the Legionnaires go off on their adventure into the past.

She was the only Legionnaire in the story not to use her super-power so I had to guess what it might be. I didn't know at the time that she would become my favourite but there was something about her cute, flip hairstyle that I liked.

She didn't become my all-time favourite legionnaire until after she became Duo Damsel and Jim Shooter worked his magic on her. Up to that point I think Chameleon Boy was my favourite, at least his was my favourite power visually.

The story you cite, Man From Cargg, was originally published in Adventure Comics # 333 and later in LSH v. 1 # 2. It was the second Legion story I ever read, and my second exposure to Triplicate Girl. She didn't use her powers in either story, so I, too, was puzzled as to what she did. Nevertheless, she seemed important, as she did a lot of the talking and directed people where to go. I didn't realize until my third Legion story that she and Duo Damsel were one and the same.

As for my favorite character, that would be Mon-El, who graced the cover of my first Legion story, LSH v. 1 # 1, albeit in an unflattering position. Superboy has grabbed onto his legs and is swinging him into a street fixture. Mon cries out, "Help! Superboy's gone mad!"

I was intrigued by Mon's costume, which was essentially the same as Superboy's but with the colors reversed. In the story, he's identified as one of the most powerful Legionnaires, though he isn't shown doing anything. In my next Legion story, as mentioned above, he arrives in time to same to save the day, and even wears Superboy's costume so the latter gets all the credit. What a guy!

It's interesting that both Triplicate Girl and Mon-El stood out to us, even though they weren't shown using their powers. Perhaps there was something in their personalities we connected with. Or perhaps it was harder to pidgeonhole them with easy descriptions, such as "the guy who shoots lightning" or "the girl who walks through walls." We wanted to know more.

I agree HWW, I think on that first viewing I assumed that Lu had a kind of leadership role as she seemed to be in charge of who went where to some degree and that she was important enough to stay behind and look after things by herself.

I also remember being determined to find out what her powers were so I kept buying Adventure Comics... so the beginning of my whole Legion collection may be partially attributed to that curiosity about her.

My first was DC Super-Stars #17, the Quintine (or wahtever) Crystal story. It did not make an impression (and I still find it rather poorly written); at the time I far favored the Green Arrow and Huntress stories of that issue.

I pretty much forgot about the Legion for almost a year, but somehow wound up with S/LSH #236. I loved the look and feel of the book (Sherman art!) and characters; this was clearly a book not stuck in standard super-hero cliches. Yes, there were elements stolen from various 70s sci-fi, but it worked!

The lead story (Rokk leading a team vs. the Worldsmith) was interesting. My intro to Mon-El, literally fighting a one-man war (as the story was titles) vs. the Khunds, was cool - he made a great first appearance with powers, too! crippling a huge Kghund warship without being lethal took brains, not just brawn. And the Garth/Imra story looked cool, even if as a kid it didn't make a lot of sense.

WILDFIRE first made an impression on me when I was in elementary school and I was reading a friend's comic during lunch assembly. I distinctly remember a sequence where Wildfire blasted out of his containment suit, which fell limp onto Blok's head. (I've since encountered that scene again when I started buying up Legion comics almost ten years later, but the exact issue number escapes me) At the time, I was just a bit weirded out by it.

My first wow was the cover to Heros 200 issue 1, the digest sized comic book publishing translations of the LSH in France.

It was the first appearance of Dawnstar cover by Grell. I loved Dawnstar as soon as I saw her in her first adventure with the Legion, and even though she may not be my favorite Legionnaire anymore (but close), she was for many years.

My first Legion story was Adv. 337's "The Weddings that Wrecked the Legion" which featured a large cast. I was hooked immediately and started begging all my friends and neighbors for any Adventures in their collections so I could figure out who everybody was and what their powers were. The Legion had already lost its Adventure spot and I was unaware of their backup feature in Action at the time so my collection came together willy nilly and totally out of order.


I too didn't realize at first that Triplicate Girl and Duo Damsel were the same until I got my hands on Adv. 341. It took me some years to get the first part of the story.

Duo Damsel and Dream Girl have always been my favorites. I was intrigued by Dream Girl by reading letters from fans, asking for her return, long before I ever laid eyes on her. I remember getting her confused with Wonder Girl because of their synonymous names. The first issue I got my hands on that featured her was Adv. 351 and it was love at first sight. Her white hair enchanted me. I was also mystified by her back story. Why did she leave the Legion? How did she join the Subs? I have several albinos in my family tree and they always intrigued me too. Maybe I thought she was related!

Triplicate Girl never appealed to me. I thought her name was amateurish and the ability to split into three seemed pointless to me. Curt Swan was the artist who transformed her from clunky Triplicate Girl to adorable Duo Damsel. Superboy's eulogy to her brought tears to my eyes. Her crush on him, which was hinted at in Adv. 350 sealed the deal. I didn't get Adv. 348 which stated the crush outright for the first time (with so-so art by George Papp) until much later. When she took part in the Mordru mission she was mine forever. I'm also a twin and the idea of someone being able to become twins at will captivated me.

My favorites have always been Cos and Dreamy... and they both appeared in the first comic I ever read, LSH #262.

My favorites have always been Cos and Dreamy... and they both appeared in the first comic I ever read, LSH #262.